Matrine- and oxymatrine-imprinted monodisperse polymers prepared by precipitation polymerization and their applications for the selective extraction of matrine-type alkaloids from Sophora flavescens Aiton

Matrine-loaded Nano-liposome Induces Apoptosis in Human Esophageal-squamous Carcinoma KYSE-150 Cells

INTRODUCTION

Esophageal-squamous Cell Carcinoma (ESCC) is often diagnosed at the middle or late stage, thus requiring more effective therapeutic strategies. Pharmacologically, the anti-tumor activity of the principal active constituent of Sophora flavescens, matrine (MA), has been explored widely. Notwithstanding, it is significant to nanotechnologically enhance the anti-tumor activity of MA in view of its potential to distribute non-tumor cells.

METHODS

Herein, MA-loaded Nano-Liposomes (MNLs) were prepared to enhance the effect of anti-ESCC. The MNL showed a smaller sized particle (25.95 ± 1.02 nm) with a low polydispersed index (PDI = 0.130 ± 0.054), uniform spherical morphology, good solution stability, and encapsulated efficiency (65.55% ± 2.47). Furthermore, we determined the characteristics of KYSE-150 cells by cell viability assay, IC50, Mitochondrial Membrane Potential (MMP), Western blot, and apoptotic analysis, which indicated that MNLs down-regulated the cell viability and IC50 in a concentration-dependent manner and induced a significant change in JC-1 fluorescence from red to green.

RESULTS

The above observations resulted in increased Bax and Caspase-3 levels, coupled with a substantial decrease in Bcl-2 and apoptotic promotion at the advanced stage compared with MA.

CONCLUSION

Based on these results, MNLs may serve as a more effective and promising therapeutic option for ESCC.

Targeting PI3K by Natural Products: A Potential Therapeutic Strategy for Attention-deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a highly prevalent childhood psychiatric disorder. In general, a child with ADHD has significant attention problems with difficulty concentrating on a subject and is generally associated with impulsivity and excessive activity. The etiology of ADHD in most patients is unknown, although it is considered to be a multifactorial disease caused by a combination of genetics and environmental factors. Diverse factors, such as the existence of mental, nutritional, or general health problems during childhood, as well as smoking and alcohol drinking during pregnancy, are related to an increased risk of ADHD. Behavioral and psychological characteristics of ADHD include anxiety, mood disorders, behavioral disorders, language disorders, and learning disabilities. These symptoms affect individuals, families, and communities, negatively altering educational and social results, strained parent-child relationships, and increased use of health services. ADHD may be associated with deficits in inhibitory frontostriatal noradrenergic neurons on lower striatal structures that are predominantly driven by dopaminergic neurons. Phosphoinositide 3-kinases (PI3Ks) are a conserved family of lipid kinases that control a number of cellular processes, including cell proliferation, differentiation, migration, insulin metabolism, and apoptosis. Since PI3K plays an important role in controlling the noradrenergic neuron, it opens up new insights into research on ADHD and other developmental brain diseases. This review presents evidence for the potential usefulness of PI3K and its modulators as a potential treatment for ADHD.

Magnetic Molecularly Imprinted Polymers: An Update on Their Use in the Separation of Active Compounds from Natural Products

During the last few years, separation techniques using molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) have been developed, making breakthroughs using magnetic properties. Compared to conventional MIPs, magnetic molecularly imprinted polymers (MMIPs) have advantages in sample pretreatment due to their high specificity and selectivity towards analytes as a result of their larger specific surface areas and highly accessible specific binding sites. The techniques of isolation of active compounds from natural products usually require very long process times and low compound yields. When MMIPs are used in sample separation as Solid Phase Extraction (SPE) sorbents, the MMIPs are introduced into the dissolved sample and spread evenly, and they form bonds between the analyte and the MMIPs, which are then separated from the sample matrix using an external magnetic field. This process of separating analytes from the sample matrix makes the separation technique with MMIPs very simple and easy. This review discusses how to synthesize MMIPs, which factors must be considered in their synthesis, and their application in the separation of active compounds from natural products. MMIPs with magnetic core-shells made by co-precipitation can be a good choice for further development due to the high synthesis yield. Further optimization of the factors affecting the size and distribution of magnetic core-shell particles can obtain higher synthesis yields of MMIPs with higher adsorption capacity and selectivity. Thus, they can isolate target compounds from natural plants in high yields and purity.

A review of chemistry and pharmacology of Piperidine alkaloids of Pinus and related genera

BACKGROUND

Pinus and other related conifers belonging to family pinaceae are most commonly used medicinal plants in Indian North-western Himalayas. Various parts of these plants including needles are source of several well known alkaloids. Of all the alkaloids, piperidine group is one of important component and hold considerable medicinal importance.

METHODS

The group of alkaloids was initially identified from genus Piper through which a large variety of piperidine molecules have been extracted. The planar structure of this heterocyclic nucleus enables acetamide groups to be added at various ring configurations.

RESULTS

In the area of drug research, the piperidine heterocycle has gained considerable interest. To produce a new therapeutic profile, the broad range of its therapeutic application paved the way for researchers to implant the nucleus from time to time in diversified pharmacophores.

DISCUSSION

However, biological functions of piperidine metabolites have been mostly examined on a limited scale and that most of the findings are thus preliminary. We have tried to present different clinical applications of piperidine alkaloids in this study that researchers have already attempted to demystify from time to time.

CONCLUSION

Given the importance of the piperidine nucleus, the study will enable the researcher to produce scaffolds of the highest therapeutic efficacy. We have also illustrated different types of piperidine, its sources in different member of family pinaceae with special emphasis on Pinus.

The Effect of Induced Diabetes Mellitus on the Cerebellar Cortex of Adult Male Rat and the Possible Protective Role of Oxymatrine: A Histological, Immunohistochemical and Biochemical Study

Diabetes mellitus (DM) represents a widespread metabolic disease with a well-known neurotoxicity in both central and peripheral nervous systems. Oxymatrine is a traditional Chinese herbal medicine that has various pharmacological activities including: anti-oxidant, anti-apoptotic and anti-inflammatory potentials. The present work aimed to study the impact of diabetes mellitus on the cerebellar cortex of adult male albino rat and to evaluate the potential protective role of oxymatrine. Fifty-five adult male rats were randomly divided into three groups: group I served as control, group II was given oxymatrine (80 mg/kg/day) orally for 8 weeks and group III was given a single dose of streptozotocin (50 mg/kg) intaperitoneally to induce diabetes. Then diabetic rats were subdivided into two subgroups: subgroup IIIa that received no additional treatment and subgroup IIIb that received oxymatrine similar to group II. The diabetic group revealed numerous changes in the Purkinje cell layer in the form of multilayer arrangement of Purkinje cells, shrunken cells with deeply stained nuclei as well as focal loss of the Purkinje cells. A significant increment in glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and synaptophysin expression were reported in immunohistochemistry compared with the control group. Transmission electron microscopy showed irregularity and splitting of myelin sheaths in the molecular layer, dark shrunken Purkinje cells with ill-defined nuclei, dilated Golgi saccules and dense granule cells with irregular nuclear outlines in the granular layer. In contrast, these changes were less evident in diabetic rats that received oxymatrine. In conclusion, Oxymatrine could protect the cerebellar cortex against changes induced by DM.

Neuroprotective Effects of Oxymatrine on PI3K/Akt/mTOR Pathway After Hypoxic-Ischemic Brain Damage in Neonatal Rats

Oxymatrine (OMT), a quinolizidine alkaloid extracted from traditional Chinese herb Sophora flavescens Ait, has drawn attention because of its beneficial bioactivities against hypoxic-ischemic brain damage (HIBD). However, the underlying molecular mechanism remains unclear. In this study, we determined the in vivo and in vitro effects of OMT on seven-day old Sprague-Dawley rats with HIBD and in a rat model of primary hippocampal neuron oxygen glucose deprivation reoxygenation (OGD/R). This study was aimed to evaluate whether OMT exerted neuroprotective effects mediated by the (phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase B/mammalian target of rapamycin) PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway after HIBD. Experimental results showed that the alkaloid significantly improved the early neurofunctional development, brain water content, abnormal pathological changes, and necrosis of neurons after HIBD. Moreover, OMT enhanced the cell viability and stabilized the mitochondrial permeability transition pore in the primary hippocampal neurons after OGD/R. OMT significantly decreased the autophagosome generation, elevated the expression of PI3K, Akt, and mTOR, and simultaneously reversed the mRNA expression of microtubule-associated protein 1-light chain 3 (LC3), Beclin-1, and sequestosomel (P62) induced by hypoxia and ischemia. However, these protective effects against HIBD could be suppressed when rapamycin, a specific inhibitor of mTOR, was included. Hence, the OMT exerted neuroprotective effects against HIBD by attenuating excessive autophagy by mediating the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway.

A Review of Plant Extracts and Plant-Derived Natural Compounds in the Prevention/Treatment of Neonatal Hypoxic-Ischemic Brain Injury

Neonatal hypoxic-ischemic (HI) brain injury is one of the major drawbacks of mortality and causes significant short/long-term neurological dysfunction in newborn infants worldwide. To date, due to multifunctional complex mechanisms of brain injury, there is no well-established effective strategy to completely provide neuroprotection. Although therapeutic hypothermia is the proven treatment for hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), it does not completely chang outcomes in severe forms of HIE. Therefore, there is a critical need for reviewing the effective therapeutic strategies to explore the protective agents and methods. In recent years, it is widely believed that there are neuroprotective possibilities of natural compounds extracted from plants against HIE. These natural agents with the anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative, anti-apoptotic, and neurofunctional regulatory properties exhibit preventive or therapeutic effects against experimental neonatal HI brain damage. In this study, it was aimed to review the literature in scientific databases that investigate the neuroprotective effects of plant extracts/plant-derived compounds in experimental animal models of neonatal HI brain damage and their possible underlying molecular mechanisms of action.

Deep eutectic solvent assisted synthesis of carbon dots using Sophora flavescens Aiton modified with polyethyleneimine: Application in myricetin sensing and cell imaging

Here, an efficient method for synthesizing carbon dots (CDs) using a deep eutectic solvent (DES) was developed. To investigate the influence of different DESs on the quantum yield of CDs, different hydrogen-bonding acceptors (HBAs) and hydrogen-bonding donors (HBDs) were used to synthesize the DES and prepare CDs. Using Sophora flavescens Aiton as precursor, CDs were prepared using choline chloride (ChCl)/urea based DES as reaction media and doping agent in the presence of water. The CDs showed strong blue fluorescence and were further modified with polyethyleneimine (CDs@PEI). The fluorescence intensity of CDs@PEI was selectively quenched by myricetin with a limit of detection (LOD) of 10 nM. Furthermore, CDs@PEI was used to analyze myricetin in the extracts that were fluorescent by DES with satisfactory performance of Abelmoschus manihot (Linn.) Medicus flowers, vine teas and blueberries. Finally, the bio-imaging application of CDs@PEI was tested and the results confirmed its potential application in bio-imaging.

Effects of a Matrine- and Sophoridine-Containing Herbal Compound Medicine (AH-05) on Liver Cancer

Herbal medicine can present an alternative way of treating liver cancer. Here, we explored a matrine- and sophoridine-containing herbal compound medicine (AH-05) extracted from Adenophora capillaris, Sophora flavescens, Astragalus, and other plants. H22 and HepG2 cell models, as well as an H22 xenograft model, were established. Cell proliferation and apoptosis were measured in vitro, and tumor volume and weight were observed in vivo. The activation of AKT/mTOR and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) pathways in tumor cells and the polarization of CD4/CD8 T cells in the spleen were tested. To assess safety, hematological toxicity and pathology of the liver, kidney, spleen, and intestine were evaluated. AH-05 inhibited cell viability in a dose- and time-dependent manner. In vivo, tumor volume and weight were reduced, and the activation of NF-κB p50, NF-κB p65, AKT, p-AKT Ser473, and mTOR was suppressed. In addition, AH-05 promoted CD4+ T cell polarization in the spleen. With regard to safety, slight intestinal mucosa edema was observed, but no severe pathological or hematological toxicity was detected. AH-05 exhibited its therapeutic effects against liver cancer by regulating the AKT/mTOR and NF-κB signaling pathways, and the immune environment, by promoting CD4+ T cell polarization in the spleen. Thus, AH-05 represents a potential supplementary herbal compound medicine for liver cancer.

Alkaloids from Traditional Chinese Medicine against hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has become one of the major diseases that are threatening human health in the 21st century. Currently there are many approaches to treat liver cancer, but each has its own advantages and disadvantages. Among various methods of treating liver cancer, natural medicine treatment has achieved promising results because of their superiorities of high efficiency and availability, as well as low side effects. Alkaloids, as a class of natural ingredients derived from traditional Chinese medicines, have previously been shown to exert prominent anti-hepatocarcinogenic effects, through various mechanisms including inhibition of proliferation, metastasis and angiogenesis, changing cell morphology, promoting apoptosis and autophagy, triggering cell cycle arrest, regulating various cancer-related genes as well as pathways and so on. As a consequence, alkaloids suppress the development and progression of liver cancer. In this study, the mechanisms of representative alkaloids against hepatocarcinoma in each class are described systematically according to the structure classification, which mainly divides alkaloids into piperidine alkaloids, isoquinoline alkaloids, indole alkaloids, terpenoids alkaloids, steroidal alkaloids and other alkaloids. Besides using them alone, synergistic effects created together with other chemotherapy drugs and some special preparation methods also have been demonstrated. In this review, we have summarized the potential roles of several common alkaloids in the prevention and treatment of HCC, by revising the preclinical studies, highlighting the potential applications of alkaloids when they function as a therapeutic choice for HCC treatment, and integrating them into clinical practices.

Oxymatrine protects neonatal rat against hypoxic-ischemic brain damage via PI3K/Akt/GSK3β pathway

AIMS

In this study we aimed to explore the specific effect and mechanism of oxymatrine on neonatal rats hypoxic-ischemic brain damage.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Hypoxia-ischemia damage model was built by ligaturing the left common carotid artery in 7-day-old rat. Rat pups in OMT group received intraperitoneal injection with oxymatrine (120 mg/kg). Oxygen glucose deprivation/reperfusion model was created in hippocampal neurons. Neurological behavioral, histopathological alteration, cell viability, intracellular Ca²⁺ concentration, MMP and cell apoptosis were used in damage evaluation.

KEY FINDINGS

The results shown that oxymatrine regulated brain damage and cell apoptosis by controlling NR2B-PI3K/Akt/GSK3β signaling pathway.

SIGNIFICANCE

Neonatal hypoxic-ischemic brain damage is a destructive injury that leading to death and detrimental neurological deficits. Oxymatrine is a natural alkaloid compound that can alleviate the ischemic cerebral infarction. In the study, 120 mg/kg oxymatrine decreased neuroethology damage and neuronal damage in the cerebral cortex and the hippocampus CA3. Moreover, 0.2, 1, 5 μg/ml oxymatrine improved cell survival, decreased cell apoptosis. The utilization of LY293004 (PI3K signaling pathway inhibitor) also supported that oxymatrine ameliorated neonatal hypoxic-ischemic brain damage and cell injury by controlling NR2B-PI3K/Akt/GSK3β signaling pathway.

Matrine inhibits itching by lowering the activity of calcium channel

Sophorae Flavescentis Radix (SFR) is a medicinal herb with many functions that are involved in anti-inflammation, antinociception, and anticancer. SFR is also used to treat a variety of itching diseases. Matrine (MT) is one of the main constituents in SFR and also has the effect of relieving itching, but the antipruritic mechanism is still unclear. Here, we investigated the effect of MT on anti-pruritus. In acute and chronic itch models, MT significantly inhibited the scratching behavior not only in acute itching induced by histamine (His), chloroquine (CQ) and compound 48/80 with a dose-depended manner, but also in the chronic pruritus models of atopic dermatitis (AD) and acetone-ether-water (AEW) in mice. Furthermore, MT could be detected in the blood after intraperitoneal injection (i.p.) and subcutaneous injection (s.c.). Finally, electrophysiological and calcium imaging results showed that MT inhibited the excitatory synaptic transmission from dorsal root ganglion (DRG) to the dorsal horn of the spinal cord by suppressing the presynaptic N-type calcium channel. Taken together, we believe that MT is a novel drug candidate in treating pruritus diseases, especially for histamine-independent and chronic pruritus, which might be attributed to inhibition of the presynaptic N-type calcium channel.

Chinese herb medicine matrine induce apoptosis in human esophageal squamous cancer KYSE-150 cells through increasing reactive oxygen species and inhibiting mitochondrial function

Matrine, as a natural alkaloid isolated from the traditional herb medicine sophora flavescens, has been proved to possess excellent biological activities, including anticancer effects. Now, this research aims to assess the anticancer activities and the mechanism of matrine against esophageal cancer cells, we investigated the proliferative inhibition, apoptosis induction, as well as the underlying mechanism of matrine on esophageal cancer KYSE-150 cells. It was found that matrine could suppress KYSE-150 cell proliferation and significantly mediate cell apoptosis in a dose-dependent relation by increasing intracellular reactive oxygen species level and triggering mitochondrial membrane potential disruption. More precise mechanism studies demonstrated that matrine could up-regulate the expression of Bax proteins and down-regulate the expression of Bcl-2 proteins, as well as the activation about caspase-3, 8 and 9 in KYSE-150 cells. The morphological analysis of KYSE-150 cells exhibited that matrine could destroy the F-actin and nuclei structures and induce morphological damage with increased surface height distribution and roughness of cell membrane. These results not only demonstrated the potential anticancer activity mechanism of matrine at nanoscale, but also provide preliminary guidance for the treatment of esophageal cancer using matrine.

Oxymatrine suppresses the growth and invasion of MG63 cells by up-regulating PTEN and promoting its nuclear translocation

Studies demonstrated that reduced PTEN levels are associated with poor prognoses of osteosarcoma. The nuclear localization of PTEN is important for its tumor suppressive function. Equally importantly, PTEN is the most significant negative regulator of PI3K/Akt signaling cascade, the constitutively activated pathway in osteosarcoma. In our study MG63 cells and U2OS cells were treated with the indicated concentrations of oxymatrine, in order to find the inhibition of oxymatrine to cells. We found the functions of oxymatrine on proliferation, apoptosis and invasion in cells. Oxymatrine could increase the expression of PTEN and promote its nuclear translocation in MG63 cells. In addition, oxymatrine could induce cell cycle arrest in G1 phase and apoptosis of MG63 cells. The migration and invasion potential of MG63 cells were also markedly inhibited by oxymatrine. Oxymatrine could suppress the growth and invasion of MG63 human osteosarcoma cells by up-regulating PTEN and promoting its nuclear translocation and inhibiting PI3K/Akt signaling pathway.

Effects of Viola yedoensis Makino anti-itching compound on degranulation and cytokine generation in RBL-2H3 mast cells

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

The Chinese herb compound prescription Viola yedoensis Makino Anti-itching Compound (VYAC), which consists of Viola yedoensis Makino, herb, Sophora flavescens Aiton, root, and Dictamnus dasycarpus Turcz, root and rhizome, has been traditionally used to treat various skin allergic inflammatory diseases in clinic.

AIM OF THE STUDY

The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of VYAC on degranulation and to determine its anti-inflammatory mechanism in RBL-2H3 mast cells.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

VYAC was extracted with water-coction extraction (Shufen et al., 2012). The aqueous extracts were concentrated in vacuum under reduced pressure and lyophilized using a freeze dryer, and lyophilized powder was obtained. MTT was used to evaluate the cytotoxic of VYAC on RBL-2H3 cells. Degranulation was carried out with RBL-2H3 cell model, which was stimulated with A23187 plus PMA. β-Hexosaminidase and histamine were measured to evaluate degranulation. The mRNA levels of inflammation cytokines (IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-6, and iNOS) were investigated by RT-PCR to explain the anti-inflammatory mechanism of VYAC.

RESULTS

VYAC did not show cytotoxic effect on RBL-2H3 cells in the range of 25-400μg/mL. A higher dose of VYAC (800μg/mL) showed significant cytotoxicity (P<0.05). VYAC could significantly inhibit β-hexosaminidase and histamine release when treated with 100, 200, and 400μg/mL (P<0.05), but could not significantly inhibit β-Hexosaminidase and histamine release when treated with 25 and 50μg/mL (p>0.05). The mRNA levels of inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, and iNOS) could significantly decrease when treated with 200 and 400μg/mL (P<0.05) of VYAC, which were associated with the development of inflammation.

CONCLUSIONS

Results showed that VYAC inhibited β-hexosaminidase and histamine release, which was inhibit A23187 plus PMA stimulated RBL-2H3 cell degranulation and downregulated inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-6, and iNOS) expression to block inflammatory development.

A novel strategy of profiling the mechanism of herbal medicines by combining network pharmacology with plasma concentration determination and affinity constant measurement

Herbal medicines have long been widely used in the treatment of various complex diseases in China.

Alginic acid/graphene oxide hydrogel film coated functional cotton fabric for controlled release of matrine and oxymatrine

The present study describes the fabrication of a functional cotton fabric and investigated the drug release capability of the functional cotton fabric.

Precipitation polymerization: a versatile tool for preparing molecularly imprinted polymer beads for chromatography applications

Minireview on recent advances of application of MIPs prepared by precipitation polymerization for recognition of target analytes in complex matrices.

Synthesis of a temperature-sensitive matrine-imprinted polymer and its potential application for the selective extraction of matrine from radix Sophorae tonkinensis

A temperature-sensitive matrine-imprinted polymer was prepared in chloroform by free-radical cross-linking copolymerization of methacrylic acid at 60 °C in the presence of ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as the cross-linker, N-isopropyl acrylamide as the temperature-responsive monomer and matrine as the template molecule. Binding experiments and Scatchard analyses revealed that two classes of binding sites were formed on molecular imprinted polymer (MIP) at 50 °C. Additionally, the thermoresponsive MIP was tested for its application as a sorbent material for the selective separation of matrine from Chinese medicinal plant radix Sophorae tonkinensis. It was shown that the thermoresponsive MIP displayed different efficiency in clean-up and enrichments using the SPE protocol at different temperatures.

Anti-tumor activities of matrine and oxymatrine: literature review

Matrine (MT) and oxymatrine (OMT), two kinds of alkaloid components found in the roots of Sophora species, have various pharmacological activities and are demonstrated to have anti-inflammatory, anti-allergic, anti-virus, anti-fibrotic, and cardiovascular protective effects. They are recently proved to have anti-cancer potentials, such as inhibiting cancer cell proliferation, inducing cell cycle arrest, accelerating apoptosis, restraining angiogenesis, inducing cell differentiation, inhibiting cancer metastasis and invasion, reversing multidrug resistance, and preventing or reducing chemotherapy- or radiotherapy-induced toxicity when combined with other chemotherapeutic drugs. In this review, we summarize the recent investigations regarding the anti-cancer activities and possible molecular targets of MT and OMT for cancer prevention and treatment in order to provide clues and references for further study.